Archive for April, 2009

Hi all – SS Crompton blogging in today, with some news about what books we are currently working on and when we might see them. So here’s the list and some info about each book and when it might come out…
True Stories of Adult Film Stars: AURORA SNOW #1: This book is mostly finished and we have sold am ashcan of this book at San Diego year year. It’s Aurora Snow’s life story and sexual fantasies told in her own words! Unlike some of the other bio comics, this book will also contains a 3rd section that will include illustrated highlights from Aurora’s diary! Should be out this summer!

DEMI & THE SEX SQUAD #1: 48 pages. This is basically issue 3 of Sex Squad, but with more pages and a little more emphasis on Demi and her other co stars who help out the Squad. This time out, Vampirooni guest stars, along with new member Sumona (from Demi Hardcore 2 & 3) Plus Kit-Ra. A sexy-thrill-packed issue! Look for it in August.

DEMI’s MOVIE SPECIAL #1 This book features stories that take place inside the Demi the Demoness Movie, including flashbacks that show how Vampirooni knew about the Thule-Gestaf (Rooni dated Lyssa’s Grandfather in the 1930’s!) Plus How Lyssa recovered the Thule-Gestaff and got a new girlfriend and the time Demi was summoned to Castle Von Crowley during WWII! Lots of cool , sexy Nazi sex and mysticism! Look for this book in the Fall.

The state of erotic comics, to put it lightly, is in turmoil. At no other point in the medium’s history has it been hit harder by factors including (but not limited to) censorship, economics, and perhaps its greatest threat yet, the catastrophic impact other media continues to have on the art form.

The comics’ industry in general has seen some hard times as of late. Its audience continues to grow older, and still the industry has yet to figure out a way to bring in new readers. The readership shrinks ever more into nothing but a small band of ancient old timers who have been reading the books since they were children in the fifties and sixties. Year by year more and more of this generation kick the bucket.

Fantagraphics/Eros Comix has all but halted the release of any adult material, aside from the books which have established themselves as sure fire bread winners. In the early nineties, Eros put out a slew of adult titles every month. At present one can scarcely hope to find a single adult release per month. This has led to a staleness of the genre, and with a lack of material to choose from, otherwise loyal readers have been forced to seek entertainment elsewhere–after all, not everyone can find something to enjoy in “Housewives At Play,” the highest selling adult comic at the moment.

Enter the internet, with just one click of your mouse you can unleash a treasure trove of porn, enough to last you a whole lifetime. It used to be that erotic illustration was popular due to the limited amount of hardcore images available to the masses. This has changed dramatically. No longer does little Johnny hide a “Playboy” under his bed for some late night entertainment, but instead is at the keyboard furiously downloading adult content while his parents are away.

We must not blame adult video for the downward spiral which erotic comics has entered—we can only blame those who deal in erotic comics themselves, with Eros Comix coming in at #1.

Fantagrphics has never been interested in publishing adult comics, they simply started the Eros line as a money making venture in order to fund the publication of their pretentious artsy books that nobody ever buys. Thus, they’ve treated adult content as second class since the beginning, as an afterthought if you will.

After Fantagraphics acquisition of the rights to a number of classic strips including “The Peanuts,” the Eros line has been deemed to have fulfilled its function. Now Fantagraphics, which never wanted to get into the adult market in the first place, need not participate in it anymore, for “The Peanuts” pay the bills now. As a result of Eros shutting down, a vast number of wonderful books have gone out of print and will continue to remain so, as it appears Fantagrphics has no interest in resurrecting them.Recently, Diamond canceled the adult supplement to the “Previews” magazine, further signifying the end of erotic comics unless great steps are taken to offset the damage which has occurred.

What will ultimately save adult comics in America is the emergence of a new publisher—a publisher who does not treat erotica as throw away material, but instead invests heavily in a product the company behind it can be proud of. NBM often shines as a guiding light in these dark times for dirty books. The publisher produces high quality color graphic albums that any fan of sequential art can display in his or her library. Unfortunately NBM does not exclusively deal in adult books, but publishes all sorts of genres.Until a publisher emerges that puts the amount of work NBM does into the few adult books they do release each year, perhaps the best thing for adult comics fans to do is to make sure your favorite titles do not go out of print, whether through writing to a publisher, or just encouraging your buddies to pick up a copy of something you like. A little can go a long way, especially if you put forth the idea that these books are not merely just porn, but actually mean something and deserve better than being a nameless statistic in some bigwig head of marketing’s spread sheet.

Here is a note we received from Mark Bode regarding the Puma launch of his new lizard shoe and Hoodie as discussed in the interview we conducted with him. Please take the time to read this before reading the interview.

Puma is cutting their budget and we are not going to Japan with the Lizard shoe and hoodie release. instead they will be launched at the BODEGA shop in Boston, on May 16th. I will be there for the party, as well as some of the most important names in Graffiti.

Also watch out for The Bode limited edition spray cans being released by the biggest spraycan company in the world MONTANA. Which are also slated to be released in May, in America… Very cool!!!

Mark Bode is a multitalented artist and storyteller working in a plethora of mediums. He is perhaps best known for continuing his father Vaughn Bode’s (a master of underground comix) work with the graphic novel series Cobalt 60 and the critically acclaimed Cheech Wizard: The Lizard of Oz. Recently Mark Bode contributed a story to Belly Dance Comics, an anthology, which can be purchased on www.demicomix.com featuring a cover by Steve Crompton (Creator of Demi the Demoness).

1.Besides Richard Corben’s art, your style, the Bode style, may be the most recognizable in comics today. For those that don’t know, can you describe what exactly the Bode style entails?

Bode style was originally derived from Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” and V.T. Hamlin’s, Alley Oop and, of course, Disney. The style is most recognizable from the eye popping outlines which make the characters pop out of the page.

2.Your father’s art has been widely adopted by the world of graffiti artists. Why do you feel his work transcends the generational gap?

The outlines are very visible from a distance, which lends itself to that medium, also the simplicity of the design of the characters make them easy to paint with a can.

3.You’ve mentioned, on several occasions, that your father always imagined his characters as if they were in the real world, and treated them as such. He also imparted this unto you: What is your fondest memory of him “teaching” you about Cheech?

We would go for walks and wait for Cheech to show up. He never did, but my dad would insist that he was coming any minute. When he showed his Cheech comics to me, he said this was what Cheech was doing the other day. Very unique form of brain washing.

4.Ralph Bakshi’s 1977 film, “Wizards,” takes its look from the Bode style. To this day, have you received any royalties from the film?If not, why?

No. Bakshi was heavily influenced but he changed the characters so we wouldn’t sue him. Cobalt became Necron99, Cheech Wizard became Avitar and the broads well… I need not go on about his “influence.”It’s obvious to say the least.

5.Your graphic novel series, “Cobalt 60,” first published in Epic Illustrated, is set to become a live action film. What do you hope to see in this picture?

I love “Road Warrior” and the humor of “The Army of Darkness.” If Zack Snyder can capture the flavor of those two movies and take it to a new level, it will be a natural hit. You just can’t go wrong with the premise and the awesome characters my dad and I set forth.

6.Many kids might not have been as enthusiastic as you, in terms of keeping the legacy of their parent(s) alive. What drives you to continue to make sure your father’s work does not fall into obscurity?

To me, the characters are friends of mine. When my dad passed, they did not need to pass with him. I keep Vaughn alive when I recreate stories with his characters. If you could revive a loved one from the grave, wouldn’t you? It’s that simple, it has nothing to with ego or money, just a love for the work.

7.You’ve worked in all sorts of mediums, everything from comics to spray can mural painting. Do you have a favorite medium in which create?

Each medium has a payoff for me. Comics are tedious and time consuming but, when it’s done, you can share those places in your head with the masses. Tattooing is a give—give, and making people happy with quality work is priceless. Spray can murals are pure joy as the size is so exciting and they are enjoyed by the public, so it is a billboard for your art.I love doing big stuff, the bigger the better.

8.The apparel and shoes you designed for Puma have become extremely popular, so much so that it is hard to get one’s hands on them. Will you be doing anymore work for them, or will there be a reissue of said items?

I am about at the end of my license with Puma, the Lizard hightops and Lizard hoodie come out in the summer of 2009.I hope to drop them in Tokyo at that time.I worked very hard on the hoodie to make it perfect. The hood is the head of the lizard and it has spray can and marker pockets on the inside..very cool. People will bug big time.

9.Besides your work in independent comics, the art you did on several issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has become legendary in its own right.Do you have a fondness for those characters, and keep up with them?

To me, it’s a done deal. I had fun with a capital “F,” working with my buddies, Kevin Eastman and Eric Talbot, but I can only give so much to something as non-Bode as “TMNT.”We made crazy money on those issues. If I was paid like that again, I would do it in a heart-beat. A couple of years in a row, I made six figures, which is nice when you love what you are working on and you’re havin’ fun.

10.What can you say about any major upcoming projects you might be working on? Do you have plans to publish more of your father’s work?

I have revived Cobalt 60 for another series of books, so, in case the movie does well, we will have sequel material. Dark Horse has showed interest in publishing the complete Cobalt 60 and putting out the new material as well. Cobalt 60’s son grows up and is a greedy, power hungry, prince. He kills his own mother and hunts for Cobalt, so that he can be king outright. They end up battling it out in the Coliseum, in front of thousands—ala Gladiator. Also, I have done work on Chaboocheck, as I feel that’s another potential movie property of my father’s creation. It’s a very cool world, flying creatures that are actual living fortresses pitted against World War II-looking planes—kind of a Catch 22 humorous war, sci-fi deal. There is talk of a Vaughn Bode Coffee Table Book, but it’s just talk at the moment.